About

The Claremont Institute for Economic Policy Studies (CIEPS) was founded in 1983 to help facilitate research amongst graduate students and faculty in CGU’s programs in international money and finance, international economic and development policy, global commerce and finance, and international political economy. Since that time, the Institute has grown in both size and scope, and it now has a large number of research associates located across the world who are engaged in collaborative research. While the emphasis of the Institute’s work remains heavily on aspects of international money and financial economics, its research portfolio covers many aspects of economic policy. CIEPS’s activities are administered by the Director, Thomas D. Willett, the Deputy Director, Graham Bird, and a distinguished advisory council.

While largely applied in nature, research at CIEPS is based on the belief that such analysis must rest on firm theoretical foundations. However, no one theory or methodological approach is best for all situations. As a consequence of this philosophy, the work of the Institute draws both on conventional assumptions regarding rational agents and on more recent developments in behavioral economics. It recognizes important aspects of political economy as well as institutional design in formulating policy. In addition to using modern econometric techniques to analyze large data sets that have often been assembled by CIEPS itself, the research of the Institute also sees a place for carefully crafted case studies that add depth, nuances and richness to large sample analysis. Quantitative and qualitative research methodologies are viewed as being complementary. A particular focus of CIEPS has been the integration of economic and political analysis, and the Institute has played a leading role in developing the field of international political economy. Through its research, CIEPS has had a discernible impact on economic policy at both national and international levels.

Research conducted by members of CIEPS is regularly published in leading academic journals, and the Institute has gained an international reputation both for its high quality research and for its role as a leader in promoting work that crosses conventional disciplinary boundaries, with a special focus being on political economy, behavioral considerations and the role of institutions. Conventional academic metrics, such as citations, reflect the high rate of research productivity achieved by members of the Institute, and the strong impact that this research has had both on academic developments in the field of international money and finance and on the design of economic policy world-wide. Members of CIEPS are frequently invited to give presentations based on their research to meetings of policy makers at national, regional and global levels.

CIEPS strongly encourages and facilitates collaborative research between its faculty members, its wide network of research associates, and the large number of doctoral students working in the field of international money and finance. At any one time, there are normally about thirty five students undertaking doctoral study in an area of research covered by CIEPS. The Institute is particularly proud of the way in which it helps to train the next generation of researchers, many of whom have gone on to secure positions throughout the world in academia, government economic service and international organizations, as well as the private sector.

CIEPS sponsors a bi-weekly research workshop that analyzes current topics in international monetary and financial economics, as well as domestic economic policy in advanced, emerging and developing economies. It also organizes seminars and an annual student-faculty conference. It regularly arranges sessions at international conferences run by professional associations. By participating in such events, members of CIEPS are able to present their research and disseminate their findings to a global audience of fellow researchers and practitioners.